John Zorn writeup - What are the costs of 'irreverence'?
Josie Brechner
What are the costs of 'irreverence'?
I had a difficult time at the John Zorn lecture last week. Reflecting on it after the fact, I decided that it was principally because his views and approach to making art are so diametrically opposed to my own.
From a basic standpoint, his general tenor and attitude were so dismissive and abrasive. So much so that at least one student felt uncomfortable enough to walk out. He dismissed entire groups of musicians as "lazy" and "weak", complained about unions in one breath while saying musicians need to stand up for themselves in the next, and said that his Masada performers were only playing his music correctly if they were straining or hurting themselves.
Zorn never claimed to speak for anyone else but himself, but one can't help but wonder how less-than-receptive the industry would be to an artist acting in all these ways if they weren't a cis white man. When challenged on the privilege he has, Zorn fell back on saying he was just a kid from Queens, but he also came from a family that could afford to send him to piano lessons as a kid and a private international school from K through 12th grade. Certainly - in these later stages of his career, the ability to offer his compositional work to directors for free and the ability to have numerous free spaces available to him to perform concerts is not something available to many working artists today.
Thinking about the ways I've been urged by mentors and folx I look up to to spread kindness around my working relationships, and to build bridges wherever I can, it was disappointing to see such a contrarian stance taken to what I still firmly believe to be true. It's great that these attitudes have worked for John Zorn, but at the end of the day, I think it's ultimately harmful to expose students to that sort of behavior, lest some decide that they should use that as a basis for their own. Even if that "irreverence" makes you stand out as an idiosyncratic character, even if it drives your personal success, at what cost does that come for people in the environments you move through?
Comfort was another question on my mind during the talk. This question is much more open ended: where do we draw lines to demarcate safe territory and familiarity for ourselves and where do we recognize when we should push ourselves out of our comfort zones? It was interesting to hear that he only works with a rotating cast of musicians that he signs off on. And if he can help it, he said he'd only prefer to work in spaces that he can select as well. Comparing this to how I hope to live my career as an artist, I hope I never feel as strong a need to clamp down on every element of a performance. I hope I can find things to appreciate and learn from in every new person I work with, and stay open, positive, and conscientious of my relationships with my art and others making their own.
John Zorn certainly seems like a "Mark Zuckerberg". Certainly talented, but has unquestionably had the aid of privilege and sheer dumb luck to get to where he is today. Yes his model for getting the success he has is unique, but it should not be a model anyone should follow. His inability to recognize the position he is in and the steps that he got there was very annoying.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this, Josie! I completely agree with all of your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts! I agree with this. I thought his hypocritical rants were at best awkward. He clearly brands himself/sees himself as a renegade or rebel against the "classical" establishment, yet he personifies the same pretension, condescension, and exclusivity that he was claiming to be against.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think you are totally right about not only his unwillingness to own up to societal privileges that got him to where he is today, but also the privileges that allow him to continue to act with seemingly not many consequences. And regardless, as you said, definitely less consequences than non cis-white men.
I talked with another student about him the day after and the student said "well he's very successful and he did give a lot of caveats saying 'this worked/works for me, but might not be good for you,'" and to that I say that's fine, but there's a difference between using caveats as disclaimers vs as an excuse to behave disrespectfully and unkind. It's cool that he's made a name for himself but the biggest takeaway I took from this is how exactly I do NOT want to be as an artist or person.
PS - this didn't even touch on the fact that we didn't listen to any music (his or influences or anything) and barely discussed anything specific to composition. I tried to steer the conversation away from him talking about himself and towards his inspirations (jazz and Lee Konitz) but that only lasted for a little.
Well, I have to say, I enjoyed Zorn's lecture, however I can see your points. What I took away from his lecture, is work ethic and a sense of pride in his work. Now, while this pride may have prevented him from being all that he could have been in the music industry, in a way, he remained consistent with his feelings from the time he began composing until now. While, this may be a horrible thing in the eyes of many, it is also a good thing as many musicians and composers sometimes stray away from true feelings or ambitions to satisfy others. Again, I can see your points, but I also saw several good points in Zorn's lecture.
ReplyDeleteI definitely sympathize with your reactions to Zorn's demeanor and attitude towards music creation. I've found that it's best to have the opposite approach to his as it pertains to collaboration and music creation. Just my two cents.
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